HUNTSVILLE, Texas—After Hurricane Ike, crews cut down damaged trees across the area, but one landowner has filed a lawsuit claiming not only that workers went too far, but they violated his freedom of religion when they sawed off his trees.
Away from the bustle of downtown Huntsville, sits a quiet couple of blocks named by the property owner.
"I own virtually this," said George Russell. "It’s Russellville."
There are lots of trees here and Russell is their self-proclaimed protector.
"This is just a fabulous tree," Russell said wrapping his arms around a giant old tree.
Russell will be the first to tell you he’s a tree hugger. But preserving trees has become an even higher calling.
"I’ve been the protector of what I call God’s holy creation," said Russell. "These trees are spiritual to me."
In the days after Hurricane Ike, when tree-trimming crews were clearing branches from power lines, Russell got into a confrontation with them in front of his property.
"They were just whacking, inside my property line, beyond their easement, whacking limbs that were 100 years old and had never hurt any power line," said Russell.
Huntsville police came and Russell was arrested. The charges were later dropped, but now Russell is suing almost everyone involved saying he was wrongfully arrested. He claims that cutting his trees was a violation of his freedom of religion.
The Waller County Criminal District Attorney David Weeks is one of the people being sued by Russell. Weeks said that this incident happened in the days after Ike, when the population of Huntsville nearly doubled.
"Bottom line, this suit is baseless," said Weeks. "I think the police acted appropriately and the allegations in Mr. Russell’s suit are inaccurate."
Legal experts suggest that to prove his allegations, Russell will have to show he was targeted or discriminated against because of his religion.
Russell says some of his trees didn’t survive the trimmers cutting into their branches.
"This pine tree was so butchered that it died," he said, pointing to one tree.
Russell’s belief in the sanctity of nature runs deep. In fact, he founded his own church where he worships among trees.
"It’s like they are mutilating a sacred object in a cathedral to me," said Russell.
Now a court will have to reflect on whether the nature of his beliefs was violated.
